BURGESS


Meaning of BURGESS in English

■ noun

1》 archaic an inhabitant of a town or borough with full rights of citizenship.

2》 Brit. historical a Member of Parliament for a borough, corporate town, or university.

3》 (in the US and historically in the UK) a magistrate or member of the governing body of a town.

Origin

ME: from Anglo-Norman Fr. burgeis , from late L. burgus 'castle, fort' (in med. L. 'fortified town'); related to borough .

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.